I’m in the process of finishing up my applications for med-school and was wondering if some kind person(s) would be willing to do some proof reading. If you’re not a grammarian, feedback on how well I’m presenting my views would be appreciated as well.
Standard “Why do you want to be a docotor?” essay*
I rarely excelled in sports, couldn’t build up the nerve to act in the school play, and never made first chair on trumpet. But when I went to work and put on my tool belt none of that seemed to matter. Using my skills for the benefit of others gave me pure and simple satisfaction - validation for the long days and years of training. Somewhat appropriately, the eighteen years I spent working for my father’s construction company laid the foundation on which I hope to build a successful career in academic medicine.
I began working alongside my dad at the age of four. Traveling all of sixty feet to that first job site, I ‘helped’ build a deck for our newly retired neighbors George and Mary. After a weekend of hammering nails and carrying planks of wood, I swelled with pride. No one would soon visit our house without seeing what we had erected next door. From then on, I jumped at every opportunity to climb into our beat up, primer-blue cargo van and head off to work. Whether it was building a two story play pen for Mrs. Smith’s eight cats or a basement workshop for Mr. Gibson’s speaker wire business, each new job provided the opportunity to learn something new while forging stronger links to someone in my community. It made the world feel that much smaller.
Gradually, the quick weekend projects of my childhood gave way to months long renovations that toughened my stamina and resolve. Days that began with the seven A.M. lumber run often lasted until six, when the last pile of saw dust had been swept away. For my dad, the return home marked the start of a whole new workday, as he drafted contracts, submitted estimates, and reviewed blueprints well into the night. Despite the long hours and constant pressures, he seldom complained. Quite the contrary, driven by the desire to turn a home owners dream into reality, he reveled in the opportunity to prove himself. This example consistently highlighted the importance of finding my own passion in life and pursuing it with the same single minded determination.
It was a visit to Dr. Shaw that first planted the seed of that passion in the field of medicine. As I turned thirteen, she discovered I had been born with a rare, though entirely treatable, pituitary disorder. The prospect of being on medication for the rest of my life turned my self-reliant sensibilities on end. In an attempt to regain some semblance of control, I set out to learn as much about endocrinology as possible. Scouring every accessible medical resource between my frequent visits to Dr. Shaw, her office quickly became a forum for questions. Despite running a busy practice with a full patient load, she always made every effort to relieve my fears and keep me informed. These years left an indelible impression on my consciousness. It opened my eyes to important role physician’s play in educating the community about their health and the rewarding relationships that result from imparting this knowledge.
As I entered college and began seriously contemplating a career in medicine, Dr. Shaw went one step further by detailing the unseen aspects of her job: keeping in touch with primary care physicians, staying current with new treatments, and making time for family all while running a small business. I soon realized the work she did in the exam room was just part of an incredibly challenging career. However, watching on as she cared for other patients, I knew that meeting those demands only added to her sense of fulfillment.
I set out to test my own determination for a career medicine as a volunteer at the University of Maryland Medical System. Though thrilled to finally be a part of the health care team, working in the state of the art surgical wing exposed me to an entirely different side of medicine. At first glace it appeared that complex machinery had replaced every trace of humanism. I thought back to my own experiences in the hospital and focused on the little things to help make others feel more supported: making sure patients in transport were well covered with warm blankets, and escorting friends and family to the waiting area, cafeteria, or newsstand. As I grew more comfortable with my duties, I took the opportunity to learn more about the patients on their way to the OR. Their stories varied as wildly as their coping mechanisms: from the nervous humor of a middle-aged mechanic to the youthful courage of a five year old boy. Yet once they reached the operating room, they routinely placed a steadfast faith in the abilities of the staff – a trust that had been earned through compassion, knowledge, and many years of training, not the countless number of vital monitors.
Witnessing these moments in the OR confirmed my decision to enter medical school and reinforced a lesson I had learned from an early age: the greatest feelings of accomplishment come only after meeting a difficult challenge. I continue to bear this in mind as I work towards a career in academic medicine. Although I still have much to learn about medicine and the relationships connecting doctor and patient, science and service, I am eager to spend the next many years discovering those answers.
State your reasons for wishing to pusue the combined MD/PhD degree.**
With the right tools and proper motivation, one can accomplish nearly anything. For much of my life, I have lived this maxim in its most literal and mechanical sense. But now, as I search for the best way to bridge my passions for research and medicine, it has taken on a meaning closer attuned to my career goals. After much deliberation, I have concluded that my success in academic medicine will require both the research tools garnered during PhD training and the knowledge, compassion, and humility sustained with clinical practice.
My interest in medical research began during a junior year course on Endocrinology. Loosely modeled on the problem based learning curriculum used in some medical schools, the class finally gave me the opportunity to set to work as a diagnostician. This novelty gradually transformed into disappointment with the lack of understanding and treatment for some conditions. The abstract concept of incurable disease suddenly became manifest in these hypothetical patients for whom I would have no prescription. As I continued to read about the feedback loops the body uses to maintain health, I became interested in the possibility of manipulating these pathways to offset the causes or effects of disease. The idea of using breakthroughs in basic science to develop new or better treatments for others had captured my imagination.
For the past two years I have tested my commitment to this path as a research technician at the Institute for Medical Research. Using a few of the labs physiological assays, I have been conducting a screen for alleles that help regulate heart performance and aging. Though the demands of structuring my own work around the needs of the lab have been considerable, the thrill of adding to the current body of scientific knowledge has motivated me through the long nights and weekends. Still, during this time I have realized that extended workweeks cannot always compensate for the tools necessary to conduct successful long term research. In senior lab members I see an intimate knowledge of experimental techniques, an understanding of the requirements for scientific proof, and the ability to articulate complex concepts with elegance in papers, grants, and presentations. The protected research time of graduate school will provide a forum in which I can continue to hone these skills with more focus and the continued support of experienced scientists.
Although the near decade needed to fulfill the requirements of the dual degrees represents a significant portion of my life, the intensive simultaneous training will afford me the freedom to explore the overlapping boundaries of science and medicine from the start of my career. It is my hope that with persistence and a bit of luck, this early investment will yield a rewarding and successful career in medical research.